Apparatus for treating petroleum oils



W.- M. CRQSS APPARATUS FOR TREATING PETROLEUM OILS June 9, 1925.

Filed July 20 1922 fin/e 21 f0 iefalferfl Gross,

TM G.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER M. CROSS, OF KANSAS CI'ISl', MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO GASOLINE PRODUCTS comrnnr, or NEW YORK, 11'. Y.

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

APPARATUS ron TREATING rn'rnonnuu 0113.

Application filed July 20, 1922. Serial No: 576,197.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER M. Cross, acitizen of the United States, residing in the city of Kansas City, county of Jackson, and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Treatin Petroleum Oils, of which the following 1s a specification. This invention relates to an apparatus for treating petroleum oils and refers more particularly to an apparatus in which the oil is treated from a crude product to refined gasoline in separate stages.

Among the objects of the invention are to provide an apparatus in which the oil is introduced in a crude state and after being fractionally distilled, the separate fractions are treated in stages to produce further conversion; to v rovide an apparatus in which the relative y low boiling point distillates are refined and are redistilled to produce finished gasoline'while the heavier and higher boiling point roducts are diverted from the primary disti ation stage and directed to a crackin still where they are subjected to conversion temperature under high pressures to produce a synthetic crude in which a rearrangement of the molecular bodies contained in the oil has taken place, and a product from which the higher boiling point fractions may be very easily extracted.

The sin le figure isa diagrammatic side elevational view of the apparatus. Referring to the drawings, the raw crude oil contained in a storage tank 1 is supplied through a line 2 controlled by valves 3 and 4 by pum 5 to the still 6 which is preferably mounte above a furnace 7 which is heated by gas burner 8. In this still the oil is'distilled, the vapors passing ofi through the line 9 controlled by the valve 10 to refluxing towers 11, 12 and 13 through which the vapo rs successively pass due to the connecting lmes 14 and 15 controlled by valves 16- and 17 respectively.

It is understood that any number of refluxing' or dcphlegmating towers may be used accordin to the fractional separation that is desirei 50 The vapors from the final tower 13-pass over through the line 18 controlled by valve 19 to a condenser coil 20 mounted in the condenser box 21. This product contains to a large extent cuts such as crude benzine and These distillates are collected in the tank 22 and may be drawn ofi' throu h the line 23 controlled by valve 24 and c arged to the agitator 25 wherethey are subjected to refining action with acid introduced through the line 26 controlled by the valve 27 and caustic soda charged through the line 28 regulated b the valve 29. An additional sweetener suc as sodium plumbate is introducedthrough the line 30 controlled by valve 31. The liquid in the agitator is thoroughly mixed and agitated by means of an air pipe 32 positioned in the bottom of the receptacle. The refined distillate from the agitator is drawn oil through the line 33 regulated by the valve 34 and is charged to steam still 36 in which is positioned the steam coil 37. Here the distillate is re-distilled, the vapors rising through the line 38 controlled by the valve 39 and condensed in the water condensing coil 40, after which they are 001- gasolected as liquid distillate or finished line in the receiving tank41 from which the liquid distillate may be drawn oil through a draw-off line 42 controlled by a valve 43.

The refluxed products from the towers 11 and 12 are passed through the cooling coils 44 and 45 mounted in the condenser box 21. These products are collected in the tank 46. The lighter reflux condensate separated out in the tower 13 is passed throu h a se arate coil 47 and collected in the tanl r 48. alves 49, 50 and 51 are positioned in theseparate connecting lines between the coils and the tanks to regulate the flow of condensate therethrough.

Inaddition to the condensate collected from the refluxing tower 13 there is returned from the steam still throu h the line 52 controlled by the valve 53 t e higher boiling point distillates which do not pass over to the receiving tank at the temperatures mainlighter distillates in the nature of gasoline. 65 connected to the reacting chamber by a 0 ofl line 71 through which the synthetic crude produced in the'cracking unitis returned to the storage tank 72, and a gas relief valve 73.

"The synthetic crude returned from the cracking unit is recycled with the incoming crude 011 through the still 6 being charged through the line 74 to the line 2 through which the crude is charged.

In operation the crude oil is distilled in the primary still and the vapors fractionated to produce separate distillates. The condensate collected in the tank 46 will consist principally of a higher boiling point product such as gas oil and oils of a similar nature while in the tank 48 will collect cuts of the. kerosene series, while in the final tank 22 li hter distillate such as crude benzine, napt a and the like will be collected.

The lighter products such as those collected in the tank 22 as explained are refined in the agitator 25 with acid, caustic soda, sodium plumbate and other refining means, and are then directed to a steam still as shown at 36 where the refined product is redistilled to refined gasoline which collects in the receiving tank 41, while the higher boiling point or objectionable cuts are drawn ofi from the still and returned to the tank 48 and there combined with the relatively higher boiling point oils-which are charged with the gas oil like products from the tank 46 to the heating coil 59. In the cracking unit the oils comprising the gas oil and kerosene bottoms comprising the charging stock are subjected first to a conversion temperature at pressures in excess of 500 pounds, temperatures ranging from 600 to 900 F. are satisfactory to produce conversion' The oil is then passed through a transfer line to the reacting or digesting chamber where like pressure is maintained in order to permit the conversion to continue while the oil remains substantially in the liquid phase. The'collection of the oil in this chamber in a considerable body at the temperature and pressures suggested permit a digestion or stabilization of the heated oil which produces a re-arrangement of the molecular bodies to form what may be termed as a synthetic crude. ,From the re-' acting chamber 62 the oil is drawn off as desired, and passed through the cooling coil 65 and thence through the gas separator 68 wherein the incondensable gas may be removed, while the liquid products are re-' turned to the synthetic crude storage tank and recycled through the system by being introduced with the charging stock to the still 6.

The character of the synthetic crude. after conversion in the cracking asexplained,

is such that the lighter or lower boiling point fractions are easily extracted therefrom by simple distillation. The residual products unvaporized in the still 6 are drawn ofi through the line 76 controlled by thevalve 77 and passed through the cooling coil 78 after which they are collected in a tank 79. These residual products consist principally of such cuts as fuel oil and like heavier residual carbon containing products which may be drawn off through the line 80, or if desired, directed through the line 81, controlled by the Valve 82 and charged with the gas oil and kerosene bottoms through the line 58 to the cracking unit.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus for treating petroleum oils, the combination with means for fractionally distilling the oil having separate condensate collecting means, of means for refining the lighter fractions of a gasoline-like character, a drawoif line for tarry residual products from the fractional distilling means and means whereby the tarry residual products are combined with the higher boiling point fractions from said distilling means, a pressure distilling means for cracking said higher boiling point fractions and residual products from the fractional distilling means comprising a heating element, a reaction chamber connected thereto whereby the higher boiling point fractions and residual products may be subjected to the converting reaction of temperatures and pressures regulated to produce conversion of theoil while insubstantially liquid phase, means for returning the synthetic products from the cracking means to the initial distilling means for redistillation. s

2. In an apparatus for treating petroleum oils, the combination with a fractional distilling means having separate reflux condensing means for simultaneously and separately extracting the condensates of a dlfferent boiling point, means for removing the tarry residual products from the fractional distilling means and connections for combining said products with the separate heavier refluxed condensates, refining and redistilling elements -for retreating the lighter gasoline-like, condensates, a crack- I charging the same to theifractional distilling means for redistillation;

- 3. In anapparatus for treating petroleum oils the combination with a primary dis-.-

tilling means of means for fractionating the vapors evolved, means for removing the tarryiresidual products and combining them with. the higher boiling point condensates,

refining and redistilling means connected tothe low boiling point oil collecting means, means for cracking the higherboiling point 'condensates and tarry residual products comprising a heating coil and reacting chamber, whereby the oil is heated end suh- 10 'means for drawing OH and cooling'the converted oil and recycling it to be retreated 15 in the primary distilling zone.

WALTER M. CROSS. 

